Quick walk Monday morning along the Ebey’s Landing trails and beach.  We parked at the upper lot and made a counter-clockwise loop up along the bluffs then back down on the beach using the trail running along Perego’s Lagoon.  Parking at both lots was pretty busy even early.  The pit toilets at both lots were open and functional, though the upper lot ones are much nicer.  The bluff and Perego’s Lagoon trails are getting a bit brushy as expected for this time of year with the little side trail on the far north to the view point basically completely grown over with native rose and impassible. One other somewhat humorous trail note - the “caution erosion” sign at the beginning of the switchbacks down to the beach has fallen over due to erosion.  

A fair bit of wildlife out this morning including several heron, a couple big raven, lots of shore birds, a couple seal out in the water, and several hawk (couldn’t tell what kind, Coopers maybe…)  But the big draw remains the views - across the farmland, east to Mt Baker and the Cascades, west to the Olympics, south down the beach to Ft Casey and the Keystone ferry, etc which remain as amazing as ever.  A beautiful morning.  

Link to more historical information of the area - https://www.historylink.org/File/22789

While it was plenty hot in Seattle, it was very pleasant with a light breeze at Ebey's Landing. Attendance on a Friday was modest, wait times at the Mukilteo ferry were short.

What concerns me is that the trail on the bluff is getting overgrown with rather scratchy plants. This especially concerns the switchbacks at the northern end of the loop.

There are still wildflowers blooming although not nearly as abundant as in the report from the Fourth of July. The local bald eagle sat a few feet above the trail before flying off, and the white pelicans are still in Crockett Lake in large numbers.

My wife and I arrived at the parking lot near the Ebey's Landing National Historic Reserve Visitor Center at 8:38am. Parking spots were still available. We followed the recommended hike from the Hiking Guide entry and started on the Ebey’s Prairie Trail. Lots of wildflowers in bloom, especially dandelions.

There were a lot of bugs around the T-junction of Bluff Trail and Ebey’s Prairie Trail. Hiked along Bluff trail heading north and the bugs lightened up further in. We reached the end of the bluff and made our way down the switchbacks to the beach. The trail can be pretty narrow so you may need to hike single-file if you’re part of a group.

We hiked along the beach towards the Ebey’s Landing parking lot. There were lots of seaweed that had washed up on the rocky shore. Finally, we reached the parking and looped our way back on Bluff trail and then the Prarie Trail. We came back to the Visitor Center parking lot around noon and almost all spots were taken.

Wow! What a day!!
4th of July on a Thursday is kind of weird. No traffic and no problem catching the Mukilteo ferry. Just a beautiful day.
Ebey’s Landing is very colorful right now with wildflowers everywhere. The fields by the upper lot are full of dandelions and I have to say I have all new respect for dandelions. So pretty!
Lots of flowers means lots of pollinators. If you don’t like bugs, this might not be the hike for you right now. Maybe just stick to the beach. The bluff is swarming with some kind of bee that nests in the ground. They may be some kind of fly that looks like a bee because they weren’t really interested in us.
Lots of birds singing and a bald eagle that flew just below us on the bluff trail.
When we got to the beach at the bottom of the switchbacks, the tide was way out and we headed north until we found a good lunch spot.
The lagoon trail was a little stinky with the stale water but we did see a number of killdeer families there.
Vault toilets at the top and bottom are open and not bad.
Don’t forget to bring plenty of water and sun protection.
For the birdwatchers out there, we drove back to Clinton via Camp Casey and saw a flock of pelicans in the pond by the ferry to Port Townsend. My pictures turned out blurry but you’ll just have to trust me when I say they were amazing.

This was a great little hike with amazing views over the sound to Port Townsend. We started the day with a fog, so as we were getting to the top of the hike we were above it and watched it burn away. Truly beautiful. The plants and trees that secure the upper cliff and the hike down to the beach provides a genuinely unique experience. This a great hike to pair with other activities on the island, including a good hot meal in one of the towns.